Archive for the ‘Sheps’ Category

I’m a fan of Cubs GM Jim Hendry, and really like him, but one of the enjoyable aspects of being a baseball fan is second guessing the moves your team’s general manager makes. It’s easy to grumble when a player misses a hanging curveball, but let’s be honest here, you or I would have swung through it too. But on the flip side, how many of us would have traded away Mark DeRosa for…um… what did we get for Mark DeRosa again? With that in mind, here’s my personal scorecard of Jim Hendry’s decisions regarding the ’09 Cubs so far, with each move judged to be a Win, a Loss, or as they say in Vegas (and I’m guessing in Reno too) a Push.

Traded Away Mark DeRosa. Even if you ignore the fact that DeRosa was, by all accounts, a great clubhouse guy, this move has been a clear mistake in terms of numbers. Sure DeRo’s contract was fairly big and it’s not like Cleveland has been thrilled with him, in fact there was talk they wanted to trade him a few weeks back. But DeRosa’s 38 RBI would be tops on the Cubs by a large margin over current leader Alfonso Soriano’s 27. His .262 average would place him in a 4th place tie with DLee among regular players with more than 100 ABs, and his 9 HRs would be second on the team. But more than any of that, I think the moment Aram was lost to injury and the Cubs really didn’t have a true backup third baseman, the decision on this decision was in. Big time LOSS for JH. Oh, and for us.

Let Kerry Wood Walk, Replaced by Kevin Gregg. The Kid K fan in me wants to call this one a huge mistake, but Wood has struggled in Cleveland. His ERA is over 5 and half, he’s blown 2 saves and he has 2 losses. And while Gregg hasn’t been much better (he has 2 more saves, the same number of blown saves, an ERA that is better but just by about a run) I think you’d have to say this one has been a breakeven situation. Yes there are some intangibles with having Wood’s leadership, but the difference in salary helps to negate that. I’m by no means wowed by Gregg, but this one is a PUSH.

Traded away Jason Marquis. A few months ago no one would have thought the Marquis deal would look worse than parting with Wood, but that’s the reality. I’m tempted to call this one a push because Marquis is notorious for having a solid first half followed by a rough second, and his contract was ridiculous, but when a guy leads your league in wins on a near last place team (Marquis now has eight) you just can’t ignore that. Luckily the Cubs starting pitching has been fine, but the simple fact is that as of right now Marquis would be a welcomed addition to any staff. So though I expect this one to change by the end of the year, this is a LOSS for JH.

Said Goodbye to Pie. Felix is hitting .200 in 90 ABs and struck out 24 times for the O’s. He also has only stolen 1 base in 3 attempts, which is what happens I guess when you can’t get on base. In retrospect this should have been done when more teams wanted a slice of Pie, but this one is a WIN.

Ditched Bob Howry. Some might say this one is too obvious to reward with a win, but when a guy hits a homerun it doesn’t matter if it’s off a Cy Young winner or a AAA call-up, you still put the run on the board. Howry’s ERA is at 4.64 for the Giants and he’s blown 3 save opportunities despite not being the closer. WIN.

Signed Milton Bradley. I don’t know how long I need to go off about how violently this move has blown up in Hendry’s face as I think it’s pretty obvious. And it doesn’t help when one of the other left-handed options the Cubs could have had, Raul Ibanez, is leading the NL in everything. But what’s been so confusing about this move from the start was not just that Bradley hits better from the right side, but that there wasn’t any reason to think he’d be healthy, as he hasn’t ever been throughout his career. He has averaged about 90 games a season over 9 seasons and has only had more than 500 ABs once. Bradley is a DH on an NL club, and even when he turns things around at the plate the question will still be can he stay healthy, and the answer to that is simple…No. That’s why this one is, at least so far, a LOSS.

Gave the final Bullpen Spot to David Patton, Dropped Luis Vizcaíno instead of Neal Cotts. These are really two separate moves but I’m combining them into one. The Cubs didn’t have a lot of decisions to make towards the end of camp, but as inspiring as it was to hear they were taking a gamble on Patton it hasn’t worked out too well. He did just get his second win in a solid extra innings outing on Sunday, but he has a 6 ERA and Lou has only elected to use him 12 times this year. As for Cotts v. Vizcaíno, Cotts is now in the minors and Vizcaíno is, where else, on the Cleveland Indians… where his ERA is at 2.31, he has a win, a hold and a save in 8 innings of work to go against 2 losses. LOSS.

Results to Date: 2 Wins – 4 Losses – 1 Push. Not so good. But if you convert it into a batting average, you could argue Hendry’s 2 for 7 and thus has a .285 average. Which is a full 67 points higher than his new right fielder.

I can’t believe I’m writing this because a month or two ago I felt the opposite, but I’m hoping that Lou Piniella names Kevin Gregg to the closer role and keeps Carlos Marmol as the set-up man.

And it’s not just because Kevin Gregg’s spring has been so strong, it’s really not as Lou Piniella might say. Gregg has pitched 8.1 spring innings, given up just 4 hits, struck out 10 and he has not allowed a single run. But Carlos Marmol’s stats, while not as stellar as Gregg’s, have been fine— 7 innings, only two earned, 9 Ks— and it seems like he gets into games a touch earlier than Gregg, which might suggest he’s facing a bit better hitters.

It’s also not because Marmol blew the save and lost that infamous game to the Netherlands for the D.R. in the World baseball Classic, though obviously that isn’t a feather in Marmol’s blue cap.

No, I think Gregg should start the season closing because I’m not sure Marmol really, truly, awesomely wants the job right now, at least not to the degree Gregg does, and I think that gives Gregg the slight edge. Compare these two quotes:

Gregg: “I want it, I want to close. I have no qualms about saying that. I’m comfortable there. I’m comfortable with what I’ve done the last couple years, especially now that I know my knee’s healthy.”

Marmol: “I think someday I’ll close. Maybe this year.”

I’m sure this isn’t the only thing Carlos has had to say on the subject of closing, but this line from right before his departure to the WBC has stuck with me this spring.

Am I crazy? Feel free to let me know…